Many of you know that I am a dance teacher. My regular fee is $70/hour.

Last year, somehow, a lady talked me into giving her a discount and offered to pay $40/hour. She told me about how much she loved to dance but that she was in a tight spot and she couldn’t pay more.

Then she took a 3-month vacation in a South American country and when she came back she told me that she wanted to continue her dance classes, but she wanted to pay even less. I declined and I also told her that my regular price of $70 would apply.

She went off on me and called me a greedy capitalist.

And that was the end of that.

But it got me thinking about all the times that people ask for a discount, either on my dance classes or my photography services, and I want to say that it’s not cool to ask for a discount from someone who sells their time for money.

What happens when you ask for a discount from a freelancer

Freelancers have a limited amount of hours during the day, like everybody else. Hours are not like a plastic object from overseas that you can reduce the price per unit but a seller can make a profit on volume. No… Everyone has just 24 hours in a day and that’s it.

Believe me, when a freelancer decides on a rate for their time, they have put a lot of thought into it. It’s not a decision that they have taken lightly.

So when they are offered less money than what they think they are worth, it’s offensive and it deteriorates their self-worth.

Many negotiation coaches suggest asking for a discount. They say that “the worst that can happen is that they say no.”

But that’s not the worst-case scenario.

The worst case is that you are degrading another person’s self-worth and you are disrespecting that person.

Many freelancers attach their identity and self-worth to the thing that they do. For example, I am a photographer. If you tell me that my photography is not worth my asking price, you are indirectly telling me that I am not worth what I think I am worth.

Occasionally, many freelancers accept lesser pay, out of insecurity or out of dire financial needs. But they will be resentful while doing the job, and probably for the rest of their business life.

If you don’t like the price a freelancer is offering, the best thing is to look for another freelancer.